\u201cI intend to establish a broad national government. Not a narrow government, not a left-wing government that would be dependent on Arab parties, but a broad national government. Because only in that way, I believe, can we reach agreements among ourselves,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n
Netanyahu said the coalition he aimed to build would require \u201cending boycotts\u201d between political camps and would be constructed in part around what he described as a growing public consensus against Palestinian statehood and a shared desire to avoid \u201ccivil war\u201d over divisive domestic issues such as Haredi enlistment.<\/p>\n
He said his prospective government would be open to anyone who shares core principles, including that Israel is the nation-state of the Jewish people, respect for individual rights, a free and technologically advanced economy, and Israel\u2019s ability to defend itself independently.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn my view, there is far more unity among the people than what you see in the Knesset. Much more. I believe there is broad agreement on many issues,\u201d the prime minister said during the press conference.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople do not want to see a civil war. I am certain of that. There are those who are trying to inflame it and deepen the divisions within the public. I want to do everything possible to calm things down,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
A divisive figure who has demonized political opponents as \u201cdangerous leftists\u201d and is pushing a raft of divisive legislation, Netanyahu acknowledged no personal responsibility for national disunity, and elsewhere at the press conference castigated Eisenkot<\/a> as an overly cautious figure who would have left \u201call of Hamas\u201d intact.<\/p>\n Referring to reported incidents of threats of violence against Haredi demonstrators during recent mass protests against ultra-Orthodox conscription, Netanyahu said, \u201cSomeone pulled out a gun, and I believe a woman was injured. We do not want to get there.\u201d<\/p>\n He did not mention violence by Haredi protesters, including recent attacks on the home of Deputy Supreme Court Chief Justice Noam Sohlberg and other top officials involved in enforcing the law against draft evaders.<\/p>\n \t He also issued a curious critique of those who would ostensibly send police into yeshivas to arrest students for not drafting, saying this would simply prevent Haredi men from ever wanting to serve: \u201cWe have seen an enormous response from the Haredi public. Young Haredi men want to enlist. But when arrests are carried out in places of Torah study, it produces the opposite result,\u201d he declared. In fact, however, there have been no such reported arrest operations, and the claim appeared to be an attempt to foment dissent even as he asserted a desire for unity.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I told you that in some country in Europe, police were entering yeshivas, taking young men studying Torah, and putting them in prison, you would be shocked,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n A play for the political center<\/p>\n Netanyahu\u2019s remarks came as he seeks to stem an erosion of support among moderate Likud and center-right voters. A Channel 12 poll<\/a> published in May found that 42 percent of Israelis who voted for Likud in the previous election had either decided on, or were considering, backing another party in the upcoming election.<\/p>\n Some of those voters may have gravitated toward Eisenkot, the former IDF chief of staff whose security credentials, reputation as a straight shooter, and personal sacrifice after losing his son in the Gaza war have made him one of the opposition\u2019s strongest draws among center-right voters.<\/p>\n \u201cPrime Minister Netanyahu is trying to move his party to the center in order to capture the center,\u201d said Prof. Gideon Rahat, a senior fellow in the Israel Democracy Institute\u2019s Political Reform Program. But Rahat argued that the effort was disingenuous. \u201cIf this works, I expect after elections, he would ultimately rebuild the same government that he has now \u2014 with [far-right leaders Itamar] Ben Gvir, [Bezalel] Smotrich and the ultra-Orthodox.\u201d<\/p>\n \t Netanyahu has repeatedly in previous elections reached out to rivals and opponents including Naftali Bennett, Benny Gantz, Gideon Sa\u2019ar and Avigdor Liberman, urging them to put previous disputes behind them and join forces with him.<\/p>\n But rather than signaling a genuine willingness to govern with opposition leaders such as Eisenkot, Liberman, Yair Lapid or Bennett, all of whom have said they will not partner with him, Rahat argued that Netanyahu\u2019s message this time was primarily aimed at persuading disaffected center-right voters that Likud remains their natural political home.<\/p>\n That strategy, Rahat elaborated, also helps explain why, despite repeatedly invoking unity, Netanyahu defined his proposed coalition as one excluding Arab parties and the political left, while devoting much of the press conference to attacking Eisenkot, whose party overtook<\/a> Likud for the first time in a Zman Yisrael poll published last week.<\/p>\n Unity message clashes with coalition agenda<\/p>\n Netanyahu\u2019s claim Saturday that he would be able to reach consensual agreements on two of Israel\u2019s most divisive issues \u2014 ultra-Orthodox conscription and the role of the judiciary \u2014 contrasts sharply with his current government\u2019s legislative agenda, with his coalition racing to push through contentious legislation on those very issues before the Knesset is expected to recess on July 16 ahead of the October 27 election.<\/p>\n This week, the Knesset House Committee is holding marathon sessions to advance a proposed Basic Law declaring Torah study<\/a> a foundational value of the State of Israel, legislation promoted by the ultra-Orthodox parties to shield yeshiva students evading the draft from sanctions and prosecution. Netanyahu and his defense minister are also pushing a proposal<\/a> to prevent the arrests of draft dodgers.<\/p>\n The Torah study bill is being advanced amid reports of a deal between Netanyahu and the two ultra-Orthodox parties to promote some of their legislative agenda in exchange for supporting coalition priorities. Although both Shas and United Torah Judaism have denied such an agreement exists, the coalition\u2019s legislative agenda was effectively frozen for two weeks due to a boycott by the Haredi parties, initially sparked by the coalition\u2019s refusal to advance the so-called Daycare Law restoring subsidies for the children of draft evaders before expanding to other conscription-related demands.<\/p>\n \t At the same time, the coalition is racing to pass a controversial pair of bills as part of its ongoing attempted judicial overhaul, curtailing the powers of the attorney general<\/a> and making it more difficult to indict senior public officials, including the prime minister, who is currently on trial for corruption. Critics argue that the legislation is intended to weaken one of the government\u2019s core institutional checks ahead of the election. Netanyahu in 2023 dismissed a proposal<\/a> by President Isaac Herzog for agreed-upon judicial reform.<\/p>\n The prime minister is also defying what polls have repeatedly indicated is the overwhelming national consensus in favor of a state commission of inquiry into the failings surrounding the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led massacre, and is instead pushing legislation for an inquiry overseen by his own coalition. Netanyahu has ducked personal responsibility for the failings surrounding the Hamas invasion and steadfastly refused to resign.<\/p>\n The disconnect between Netanyahu\u2019s rhetoric on Saturday night and his own and his government\u2019s words and deeds prompted widespread skepticism, with opposition leaders accusing him of hypocritically and cynically seeking to depict himself as a champion of national unity after years of deepening political divisions. Even members of his own coalition rejected the prospect of the broad government he described.<\/p>\n \u201cA prime minister who blindly led Israel to a historic low, who works day and night to sow division and incitement, and who devotes all his energy to encouraging draft evasion is unworthy of this nation, and certainly has no standing to preach about unity,\u201d said Eisenkot.<\/p>\n He insisted that Netanyahu would be replaced with a \u201cZionist and nationalist majority that serves Israel\u2019s interests.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEven tonight you continued to lie about Gaza and Lebanon,\u201d the Yashar chief added. He said Netanyahu would instead be replaced by a government with a \u201cZionist and nationalist majority\u201d that serves Israel\u2019s interests.<\/p>\n Democrats party chair Yair Golan likewise dismissed the prime minister\u2019s promise, declaring that \u201cthe man responsible for the greatest disaster in Israel\u2019s history will not establish a unity government \u2014 or any government.\u201d<\/p>\n Mocking Netanyahu\u2019s appeal for consensus, he said the prime minister was \u201cmore than welcome to unite with Ben Gvir, Smotrich and the ultra-Orthodox parties in the opposition\u201d and urged all parties in the current opposition bloc to clearly state that they would not join a government with Netanyahu.<\/p>\n From within the coalition, National Security Minister Ben Gvir also criticized the proposal, calling it \u201cvery troubling\u201d and arguing that Netanyahu\u2019s previous unity governments with figures such as Tzipi Livni and Gantz had \u201cparalyzed the government\u2019s ability to advance a determined right-wing agenda.\u201d Instead, Ben Gvir said, Netanyahu should seek to establish \u201ca full-fledged right-wing government.\u201d<\/p>\n An opening for Gantz?<\/p>\n Netanyahu\u2019s appeal for a \u201cbroad national government\u201d echoed language increasingly used by Blue and White chairman Gantz and his prospective political partners, former Fire and Rescue commissioner and bereaved father Dedy Simhi<\/a> and Yoaz Hendel\u2019s Reservists party, all of whom have argued that Israel needs a broad Zionist government that is not dependent on Arab parties.<\/p>\n The overlap in rhetoric raised questions about whether Netanyahu was attempting to position Gantz and his allies as potential coalition partners, despite their longstanding criticism of the prime minister and policy differences, particularly over the role of the ultra-Orthodox parties in the next government.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/F260626AVS0029-640x400.jpg\")
<\/a>
\n\t\tProtesters supporting the conscription of ultra-Orthodox men into the military block a road in the Haredi city of Bnei Brak, central Israel, clashing with locals, on June 26, 2026. (Avshalom Sassoni\/Flash90)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/5-combo-640x400.jpeg\")
<\/a>
\n\t\tLeft to right: Former prime minister Naftali Bennett speaks during a press conference at the Knesset in Jerusalem, May 20, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel\/Flash90); Opposition Leader Yesh Atid MK Yair Lapid leads a faction meeting at the Knesset on May 25, 2026 (Yonatan Sindel\/Flash90); Gadi Eisenkot, head of the Yashar party, speaks during a conference at Tel Aviv University, May 12, 2026. (Avshalom Sassoni\/Flash90); Leader of the Democrats party Yair Golan leads a faction meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, on May 25, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel\/Flash90); Yisrael Beytenu chair Avigdor Liberman leads a faction meeting at the Knesset on May 25, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel\/Flash90)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/F260527YS76-640x400.jpg\")
<\/a>
\n\t\tUTJ chair Yitzhak Goldknopf and MK Moshe Gafni at the Knesset, Jerusalem, May 27, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel\/Flash90)<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/F260615YS81-640x400.jpg\")
<\/a>